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Annual Kyle Petty charity motorcyle ride to begin in Napa on April 28

April 7, 2012

This year, the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America will total 2,400 miles.

For the past 17 years, racer-turned-broadcaster Kyle Petty has led a cross-country motorcycle ride to raise money for several youth-focused medical charities. Usually, the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America starts on the West Coast and works its way toward North Carolina, ending at the family's Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, near Greensboro.

But that hasn't always been the case. In recent years the ride has started from California, Washington and Oregon, but also from Michigan, Maine and New York for a north-to-south version. It's ended at the camp, but also at Savannah, Ga., Hollywood, Fla., and Amelia Island. It has touched 45 of the lower 48 states--some of them just barely--missing only Delaware, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

This year's ride will be somewhat different. It'll begin on April 28 at Napa, Calif., head northward, then hang a right and come down the eastern side of the Sierra Mountains. It will cross the heart of Nevada, slip down through south-central Utah and southwestern Colorado, then cross through New Mexico and almost all of Texas, ending on May 5 at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth. Total distance: 2,400 miles, making it one of the shortest of the 18 annual charity rides.

The 15 or so riders will overnight in Redding, Ca.; Reno, Nev.; Richfield, Utah; Grand Junction, Col.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Lubbock and Fort Worth, Texas. Unofficially, a few riders will leave Fort Worth early on the morning of May 5 and dash across I-20 through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, headed for the May 6 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. For some bikers, a ride of 2,400 miles is simply not enough.

Riders will spend two nights at the Meritage Resort at Napa before leaving on April 28. They'll stay at the Holiday Inn in Redding, the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, the Fairfield and the Hampton Inn in Richfield, the Double Tree in Grand Junction, the Marriott Uptown in Albuquerque, the Overton Hotel in Lubbock and the DFW Marriott in Fort Worth. Upwards of two dozen gas and meal stops are scheduled during the seven-day ride.

After expenses, all proceeds from the ride will benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Built in 2002-03, the camp opened in 2004, four years after Adam Petty died in a Nationwide Series accident at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Just 19 at the time, Kyle Petty's son, Richard Petty's grandson and the late Lee Petty's great-grandson had already started planning a medically centered camp for children whose chronic or terminal conditions kept them from attending mainstream camps.

To date, the facility that can deal with 24 medical conditions has served without charge more than 14,000 children from 50 states and four foreign counties. The charity ride has donated more than $14.5 million to Victory Junction and other children's charities. Approximately 7,000 riders have logged more than 10.1 million miles since the first ride in 1995, when about 30 bikers went from Santa Clara, Calif., to Charlotte, N.C., via Newport Beach, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Odessa, Dallas, Memphis and Knoxville.

To follow this year's ride, fans can visit Facebook or Twitter: @kylepetty and @kpcharityride. For information about planned on-the-road stops or information about the camp and the ride, visit www.kylepettycharityride.com.